Yoga of Recovery Saved My Life
By Jess Taing…
Yoga of Recovery (YoR) saved my life.
For as long as I've known, I've struggled with addictive tendencies ranging from co-dependency, alcoholism, and drug addiction. Even deep into my yoga practice, my alcoholism intertwined with my sadhana; the post-yoga wine session with friends was always a necessity, as were the libations that were encouraged during the yoga retreats I've attended in my past. Alcohol was always a vehicle for connection. Yet while I always felt that these connections were built on inauthentic foundations, I did nothing to change it.
It wasn't until very recently that I was finally ready to admit to myself (and others) that my relationship with alcohol was destructive, unhealthy, and all-consuming. I found my self-confidence and voice at the bottom of the bottle. But sitting right next to that was the heavy weight of my depression and suicidal ideation. Having grown up without any role models, carrying the baggage of my inherited trauma, I didn't know how to cope other than to seek solace with my pain through alcohol and drugs.
In the summer of 2020, well into quarantine, I took a YoR training through my 300HR Yoga Therapy program that changed everything for me. Although I was still abusing substances at that time, my higher Self knew that this was a path I would eventually partake in when I was ready. The beauty of YoR is that is integrates three valuable methods for healing:
practical Ayurvedic advice
yogic belief systems
an adaptation of the 12-step recovery program used in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)
Through Ayurveda's person-centered model, I was able to understand how dis-ease manifests itself and how that dis-ease can lead to addictive tendencies. The yogic belief systems incorporated within YoR taught me that addictions often arise as a loss of the Self. Finally, the adapted 12-steps offered tools to identify the nature of our relationship with Spirit/the Universe/Love/God. I have always believed that our lives are a co-creative relationship with Spirit, thus YoR's adaption of the 12-step program removed the dogma of the process of recovery for me.
Recovery is a spirit, mind, and body journey. Through YoR, I have been able to learn how to treat the complex with simplicity and it is something that I hope to help others with on their own personal recovery paths. It is my deepest honor to have the opportunity to share this method of recovery with those who seek it.